The microelectronic industry is continually striving to produce ever faster and smaller microelectronic packages for use in various electronic products, including, but not limited to, computer server products and portable product, such as portable computers, electronic tablets, cellular phones, digital cameras, and the like. These microelectronic packages may include a microprocessor, a chipset, a graphics device, a wireless device, a memory device, an application specific integrated circuit, and/or the like, and may be attached to a microelectronic substrate through a microelectronic socket mounted to the microelectronic substrate. However, as microelectronic packages become smaller with tighter pitches between signal lines, it becomes more difficult to reduce the size of the microelectronic sockets without inducing signal loss due to cross-talk between adjacent contacts extending through the microelectronic sockets. One method to enable low signal loss is to add ground contacts extending through the microelectronic sockets to act as shielding structures; however, this undesirably increases the microelectronic socket footprint/size. Another method to enable low signal loss is to fabricate a shielded microelectronic socket, which has grounded shielding structures therein. However, shielded microelectronic sockets are generally difficult to fabricate, as non-traditional material processes may be necessary in order to integrate shielding and insulation into the ever tight pitches between the contacts extending through the microelectronic sockets. Therefore, there is a need to fabricate shielded microelectronic sockets in an effective and cost effective manner.